Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer
by Orchid Falls
Summary: It's probably a stupid idea getting Tahno to hang out with the fire ferrets, but Korra thinks they could all do with a bit of a distraction after the events of the arena. What could possibly go wrong, right? Both the brothers and Tahno have other opinion


**Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer**

Bolin's in the middle of storing belongings into boxes and half listening to one of Mako's remember the time rambles; he's even got the soft nostalgic voice going on, curling his hands around socks that Bolin outgrew two years ago and staring at them like they're Bolin's baby blanket; it's a tiny bit creepy and sad, that's all he saying. They're just small socks after all, complete with the odd holes in the toes and everything, when Korra knocks three times on the door before letting herself into the attic.

"Hey," she says, leaning against the doorway, one arm curled tight at her side and looking like she's about to fall over.

Bolin knows that she spent the morning going through last night's details over and over with Chief Bei Fong and Tenzin. Just as he and Mako had done earlier, forgoing breakfast to sit in the police headquarters offices recounting every minute detail that they could and could not remember, and if there's one thing to be said for the both of them: Bei Fong and Tenzin are extremely thorough.

"I had no idea it was this bad," she says, "I mean…" her eyes sweep around the room as she grows silent.

The whole back window's broken and been half boarded up with the majority of glass swept up last night, Pabu's feet and all, but it still looks like it got ambushed by a police airship, and to be fair the attic got off lightly compared to the rest of the arena.

"Nah, it's not that bad," Bolin goes, jumping up off the floor and taking Pabu with him, he keeps pawing at everything Bolin's trying in vain to keep tidy, getting his claws snagged in every blanket and old top he can get his paws on. "You should see what the equalist's place looks like, oh, wait a minute, I think you were the one that kicked Amon's ass in the first place?" That gets a smile out of Korra, reluctant and shy, but Bolin will take whatever positive reaction he can get at this point. He's spent all morning with one grumpy Mako.

"Still," she says, "this is your home, where you live. Are you packing?"

Mako comes over, dumping a box of what looks like cooking utensils, pans and woks; a fat 'keep me' written on the side of it, and sighs. "We've not got much option." He collapses down on the beat up sofa. "The arena's unstable right now and with no matches and no odd jobs to pay the rent, Toza just can't afford to keep us. Every last yuan he owns is going on fixing this place in time for next year's tournament."

"Right," says Korra, eyes looking anywhere but at the two brothers. "I can see how that would be a problem."

Bolin tuts, "It's only going to be temporary, just while the place gets a makeover, right?" He looks to Mako who shrugs in reply, ever the optimist, and Bolin gets it, he does, this place was home for them, shabby as it may have been, and he knows that Mako wants that, needs it; to come home at the end of the day to a place that's theirs, somewhere that they can just relax and feel comfortable in. A place that doesn't feel like it can be taken away from them at any moment, any second. "Just temporary," he finishes, nuzzling Pabu's ears as he skitters up and curls around his shoulders.

Korra's gaze snaps back to him, "And in the meantime?" There's a beat but she doesn't wait for an answer, hand curling at the bottom of her chin as she gets excited, "I'm sure Tenzin wouldn't mind, in fact it's practically his motto, airbender and all," her eyes brightening as she continues, "Why don't you move in with us and the acolytes?"

"Ah, well - -"

"Thanks, Korra, but Asami's already offered to let us stay with her." Mako interrupts him, his voice soft and genuine as Bolin's still sputtering over excuses. "She's coming over later tonight to help us move our stuff over to her place."

"Great," Korra deadpans, stretching the word out so that it doesn't sound great in the slightest, and Bolin catches the disgruntled wrinkle in her nose that she probably has no intention of trying to hide from them, "Well at least you have somewhere to stay in the meantime."

"Exactly," Bolin continues, moving over to wrap his arm around his brother. They've practically finished packing up their belongings, the past few years packed away snug into just a few boxes that it's kind of depressing, but having spent the majority of their childhood moving around and keeping only what could be carried away in a hurry, they've learnt to live light, still with that ingrained sense in case they ever need to make a run for it. "I hear she even has her own swimming pool."

"Well the temple is surrounded by water," Korra whispers, "fresh and everything, none of that chlorine tainted business, but you know..." She sighs, looking back up at the broken window, "It could have been a lot worse, I guess."

"We could have been the Wolf-bats." Mako goes and Bolin feels a shudder run straight through him.

"We saw Ming as we were walking out of the council," Bolin shakes his head, "I mean I hated those guys, they were so pompous, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone. He looked; he looked so dead inside, you know, like Amon had ripped out his being."

Korra nods, "I'm kind of glad you said that."

"Yeah, wait, what? You are?"

"Yeah, you see, after my interview, when I was waiting to speak to Tenzin, I ran into Tahno."

"Tahno? I hope he didn't give you any grief." Bolin pounds his fist into his hand, "If he said anything - -"

"What? No," Korra laughs, "Well, I mean yes he said something, but not like that, in fact he was kind of the opposite."

"You mean he wasn't a jerk?" Mako snorts.

"It was so sad. I mean I felt really sorry for him. In fact we sat and talked for a bit after and he's actually not a bad guy once you get to know him."

"Well we'll have to take your word- -"

"You see I knew you'd see it my way," Korra talks right over him, Mako's voice drifting silent, "So I invited him over here. I thought, I don't know, that we could all go out and just try and forget everything that's happened, just for the afternoon or something? It looks like you've finished your packing."

Bolin and Mako look at each other, and it's not often that Bolin feels speechless, like he doesn't know how to react, but, "Wait, wait a second," Pabu runs down his arm, jumping off the sofa arm and straight into an open box where he starts kneading at one of Bolin's good sleeping shirts. "You invited our mortal enemy in the pro-bending arena over for what sounds like afternoon tea? The guy who cheated his way to winning our match and paid off the refs so that he could beat us all to oblivion using dirty, nasty, what I'd have to describe as downright low, cheap tricks against us?"

"Are you going to stop that?" Korra winces, pointing down at Pabu who's nicely made a new hole in Bolin's shirt, cotton threads dangling from his paws again. "And yes, I do think you have the gist of what I'm saying."

"Pabu, no!" He bends down to scoop the ferret up, bringing them face to face with each other, "This is why we don't get nice things, Pabu. Mako?"

Mako looks unsure, looking back and forth between the two of them and burying his head in his hands before groaning, "Korra, look, as much as I'm sure you're trying to do the right thing here, I just don't think it's a good idea to be playing nice with that guy all of a sudden. A couple of minutes of pity won't change the year or so of bad blood between us. This wasn't our first tournament."

Korra bites her cheek, clasping her hands together in front of her, "Look at what you said earlier guys, things could be a lot worse, and you saw Ming, you saw what it did to him. Bending meant everything to these guys, just like it does to me, to you two, imagine if it was us in his position. The least we can do is be nice to him for the afternoon, get him out of his house and be a few pairs of ears to listen to him. Can you do that for me, please?"

Bolin sniffs, not happy, the hardest part is that she's asking them to do this for her, not Tahno, and it's a lot harder to say no to Korra when she's asking something of him than a jerk who cheated, and just one look at Mako, as hard as his brother can be, Bolin knows he's already caving.

"One afternoon," Mako says, "That's all we're giving."

"Yes!" Korra shouts, scooping the both of them up into a tight bear hug, and Bolin will never get over just how strong she is, lifting the both of them off of their feet for a second. "I knew I could count on you two to help me."

"Yeah well, you're lucky you asked us to do this for you," Bolin mutters, "We certainly aren't doing it for Tahno. Where are we supposed to be meeting him anyway?"

"He's right outside, I'll go get him."

* * *

Okay, Bolin has to admit that Tahno looks miserable; in fact it's a little uncomfortable to look at, the way that this guy used to dress himself up and be aware of every single piece of hair on his head and if it ever shifted. The way that he was so aware of his appearance and the way that he acted in front of other people, the stupid façade that had an effect on everyone around him, and now, well now he's sat across from Mako and Bolin looking downright dejected, hair hanging limp and down to his shoulders, big bags under his eyes from what Bolin figures is the lack of sleep he's getting, (and Bolin remembers that first hand, waking up screaming, Amon's hand coming down for him in every single one of his nightmares) his skin grey and ashen, looking like something that the old Tahno wouldn't even deign to scrape off his fashionable bootstraps.

"So, um," Bolin clears his throat, "this is awkward."

Korra, who is sat next to Tahno and looks like her cheeks might be about to crack from keeping up the pretence of smiling, lets her eyes widen, mouthing the word sympathetic at Bolin and tapping her fingers roughly on the table.

"No, he's right," Tahno reassures her, "I didn't think I'd ever be sat here with the avatar and the sad excuse of the fire ferrets."

"Well you can always sit at your own table," Mako goes, clearly ruffled, "if it's that much of a bother to you."

Bolin's seen his brother riled up, pushed to the point that a single spark from him can cause a lot of damage, and ever the peacemaker, plus he really likes this place to come and eat at and doesn't want to get banned for the foreseeable future, Bolin interrupts him, "I don't think Tahno meant it like that, right? You didn't mean it?"

Tahno waves his hand at him, "Right," shrugging up his shoulders before collapsing in on himself, and thankfully that's the time that the food comes out, four steaming plates of greasy food that takes the worry right out of Bolin, his mouth watering. Both he and Korra have gone for the steamed sea prunes, classic, Tahno choosing a noodle dish with fried crab-shrimps, a strong vinegar smell coming from the noodles that they swim in and Mako's gone for a firey pig chicken rib dish, the spices so strong that if he sniffs it, Bolin's sure he can feel them at the back of his throat, burning. It's a dish Bolin's tried maybe once or twice, back when the two of them could start to afford eating out, once they started making a bit of money, and Mako swears it's just like their Mother used to make, hot enough to give a good kick and still with a sweet and syrupy aftertaste, not that Bolin remembers the dish from back then, he just knows that it's far too hot for his tastes and better suited to his brother.

"Man, this is so good," Bolin says and Korra nods her head vigorously.

"Can you believe my past self was a vegetarian? He never got to taste anything this good in his life; I don't know how Tenzin does it." Which is probably why Korra loves her meat so much, making up for her past life's absence of it; and a lifetime's worth of meat is a whole lot of meat to get through.

In fact the only one that doesn't appear to be enjoying his meal is Tahno, picking at his crab-shrimps and moving them about from one side of the plate to the other. "I'm not really that hungry," he answers to the side-eye looks he sees the three of them throwing at each other. "I guess my bending was where I used the majority of my energy. Not a lot of need for that now, I figure."

Bolin thinks back to how close he was to losing his own bending, twice now if you want to have nightmares for the rest of your life thinking about it, just how easily the tables could have been flipped and it turn out to be him sat slumped across the table looking for all the world as if his life wasn't worth living.

"Have you been to see anyone?" He ventures, "To see if there's anything anyone can do about it?"

Tahno looks up, eyes skimming between the three of them and Bolin kind of wishes he'd never asked the question, but it's Korra that answers for him. "He's been to all the best healers in the city."

"And there's nothing they can do?" Mako asks.

"Absolutely nothing." Tahno confirms, pushing away the plate of food that's hardly even been touched, let alone eaten. "I almost wish we hadn't even won that stupid tournament, but then I guess it would be you guys sitting here where I am."

The reality shocks the three of them into silence; the knowledge of what Tahno's saying spreading awkwardly around the table. The pity they feel for him almost palatable, Tahno bristling. And of course, of course it's Korra that asks him, "How did you get away with cheating?"

Tahno leans back and for a second it looks like he has an ounce of his old swagger, "Please, like we needed to cheat against the likes of you guys. The fire ferrets weren't even in the same league as the wolf-bats, we shouldn't have even been competing."

"He's kidding, right?" Mako looks from Tahno to Korra, who looks a little like her own face has a tick in it she's barely able to keep control of.

"Of course he's kidding," Bolin answers, but his own voice sounds unsure, barely capable of stopping the tension he can feel rising.

"The fire ferrets would have had a knockout in round one if you guys hadn't played so downright dirty!"

"Now, Mako."

"I've got to agree with Mako here," Korra says, leaning forwards, elbows on the table, "I seem to remember our fight one on one and you going down in about, what? Three seconds?"

"Pfft," Tahno smirks, "I had to let you win at least one round, what kind of a final would it be if we'd taken you down in the first second. Hardly worth buying a ticket for if you'd paid to see that disaster."

"You have some serious attitude," Mako grinds out. "And it isn't a good thing."

As Bolin squeaks out that, "Maybe we should all settle down a bit," wary of the stares and whispers that are starting to bubble up around them, "just calm down everybody." And he knows they're going to be chucked out any second if this continues. Two hot heads and one self-obsessed one, with one genuine guy who is just trying to get everyone to be civil to each other. It's always the nice guy who loses out by losing one of his favourite places to dine out in.

"The fire ferrets had that tournament in the bag and you paid somebody to let you win." Mako's standing now, fists half an inch off the table, hurling a finger straight into the middle of Tahno's face, "and you know it!"

"Korra, do something!" Bolin frets.

But Korra leans back, crossing her arms one over the other, "No, you know I actually want to hear this. He hit me in the face with rock loaded water."

"The ferrets couldn't have won that competition and you all know it." He stands up, nothing between Mako and Tahno but the table. "Once a loser always a loser."

"That's it," and before Bolin can blink his brother's hitting out at what looks to be one severely pissed off wolf-bat.

He's asking for it though, he is, the tournament's over and there's no rules now, no reason to stop your emotions doing anything, just one bender against - - "Wait a second!" In the fastest bit of bending he's ever done in his life, Bolin moves the ground beneath his feet, pushing out with his foot and spring boarding a chunk of rock to come up between his brother's fist and Tahno's smug face that now looks anything but smug and more like accepting and wow, the three of them are such idiots.

Mako's fist smacks the rock, sending it cracking into pieces and a large chunk of it reverberating right into Tahno's jaw line, knocking his head back and sending his eyes rolling into the back of his head, out cold.

"Out, out of here now!" Yells the restaurant owner, eying the mess of rock and broken plates, the half out of it Tahno on the floor in front of him and scattered, shocked looking customers that are now half out of their seats and shouting. "Banned the lot of you!" And Bolin sighs, he knew this was coming.

Korra looks at him wide eyed and slack jawed and Bolin can't think of anything to do accept shrug at her as she very quietly says, "Bolin's got some moves," grinning.

* * *

They're outside by the lake, Tahno brought back around again after some dragging and Mako nursing his fist with some ice that Korra's knocked up for him, whilst in the meantime she works on bringing the swelling down in Tahno's jaw line.

"Nothing's broken," Bolin tries to argue, out of the earshot of Korra and Tahno as Mako grizzles at him, wincing as he moves the ice around, his knuckles an angry red and swollen.

"A little warning next time, maybe, then I could avoid smacking my fist into a rock wall you've conducted."

"You were going to hit him."

"That was the point." Mako seethes, biting his lip and Bolin knows that he's trying to calm down, trying to keep his anger in check, still mad at his brother.

"You didn't see his face," Bolin continues.

"He was asking for it."

"Exactly," He moves his hand to stop Mako's arm, fingers resting on his elbow. "He was asking for it. He wanted you to hit him, send him into oblivion."

"That's what I - - oh." And that's the point where it clicks in. "I'm an idiot." He winces, shifting his hand over so that he can turn to look at Korra and Tahno. "Does Korra know?"

"I'm guessing so or I doubt she'd be trying to heal him."

"Right," and Mako sighs, pushing himself up off the floor to walk over. "Let's get this over with then." Bolin follows suit, walking one step behind and feeling a pang of guilt with every twitch of pain that takes over Mako's face.

Korra's laughing when they get there, pushing lightly at Tahno's elbow, she's even styled his hair a little bit, not quite the arrogant style that Bolin's used to seeing, but at least it's up off his face, swept back in that usual swagger. They grow silent when Mako approaches, clearing his throat and looking off to the side until Bolin steps in for him.

"So," he says, "Mako wanted to say something to you." He elbows his brother, pushing him a step forward.

He clears his throat again, wincing as he starts to lift the wrong hand up to his face. "Listen, I'm sorry I tried to hit you. I shouldn't have done that." Korra beams at him and Tahno coughs, twisting his lips, the back of his neck colouring.

"I guess I shouldn't have wound you into it. So, sorry."

Korra beams, clapping her hands together. "I knew the two of you could be friends, I knew it. What was I just saying, hmm?" She pokes Tahno in the ribs and Bolin feels a ridiculous urge to get in between them.

"Well I wouldn't go that far," Mako nods, "but I'm willing to start again if you are?"

Tahno's lazy smile takes over his face, "Reluctant acquaintances it is then For all of us." Bolin bounces up between them, smiling and Mako looks down at Korra, cradling his hand as she beckons him to come over, his turn for healing.

"You know," Tahno goes, "We really didn't pay off the refs to win the tournament." Three sets of eyes narrow and fly over to him. "I'm not saying somebody didn't, but it wasn't the wolf-bats, we just got told right before the match to make sure we won at any cost. That everything would be smoothed over, if you know what I mean." One eye winking as he lets his arm fly out, hand aimed right at the water that no matter how hard he's trying deep inside, refuses to obey him. "Almost like somebody knew what was going to happen."

"Almost like somebody planned it even," Mako says.

Korra looks at Bolin and Mako, nodding at them, grim determination lining every inch of her body. "I'll find some way to stop him," she asserts, "Amon has a fight coming for him."

And she whirls a whip of water straight out of the lake, rounding it into a ball and smoothing it over Mako's knuckles, a little too roughly. "Oops, sorry."

Mako laughs, shaking his head, Bolin coming to sit down beside them.

"I'm counting on the three of you," Tahno says laughing, "Who'd have thought it, the whole of the bending world counting on the likes of the fire ferrets."

"You know I still have one good fist that can hit you."

"And I have two," Korra says. Bolin holding up his hands between them.

"He's joking, right. Tahno, you're just joking?"


End file.
